If you have the chance to spend a night in Lin’an, the Lin’an Museum is well worth a visit. Lin’an is the birthplace of Qian Liu, the founding emperor (Taizu) of the Wuyue Kingdom during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
Designed by Pritzker Prize winner Wang Shu, the Lin’an Museum covers an area of 25,000 square meters and officially opened on January 28, 2019. Its architecture blends the landscape composition style of Li Tang from the Song Dynasty with local vernacular elements such as rammed earth walls and rubble stone walls, and is adjacent to Gongchen Mountain and the Wuyue Cultural Relics Park.
The museum houses over 5,000 cultural relics (sets), including 3 national treasures and 51 first-class relics (sets). The core exhibits are three pieces of Tang Dynasty Yue Kiln secret-color porcelain: a celadon incense burner with brown cloud patterns, a covered jar, and an oil lamp, all of which are among the first batch of cultural relics prohibited from leaving China. The main exhibition halls are divided into the History Hall, the Boutique Hall, and the Temporary Exhibition Hall, presenting Lin’an’s historical timeline from prehistoric times to the modern era through three major themes: “High Mountains and Long Rivers,” “Deep Roots and Thick Trunks,” and “Lush Branches and Leaves.”
In October 2024, the Wuyue Culture Museum was completed and opened on the north side of the main building, with an exhibition area of 6,220 square meters, systematically displaying Wuyue Kingdom artifacts and featuring a special exhibition on secret-color porcelain. Both museums offer free admission and now serve as the core cultural facilities of the Wuyue Royal Mausoleum Archaeological Site Park.
Although the venue has its own parking lot, only gasoline vehicles are allowed underground; electric vehicles must park in the surface lot, which has very few spaces. There is another larger parking lot across the street. In this day and age, such a regulation really seems unnecessary.
Upon entering the park, the architecture immediately catches your eye with Wang Shu’s distinctive style, and the entire museum makes extensive use of bamboo materials.
The interior of the building is also very Instagram-worthy and perfect for taking photos, with exquisitely designed lighting.
And it has to be said that modern museums indeed do a much better job in terms of overall visual presentation.
However, generally speaking, the museum’s collection isn’t quite substantial enough to fill such a large space, so there are many culture-related displays, such as exhibitions on chicken blood stones and ceramics.
History Hall
Local Customs Hall
It is also quite rare to find a museum where you can touch ancient ceramic shards with your own hands, which makes for a fun experience.
The temporary exhibition hall currently features props, costumes, and other items related to the TV drama “Year of Peace.”
There is a beverage shop inside that is quite unique, and the owner makes great coffee. Naturally, it also focuses on Wuyue Kingdom-themed merchandise, such as this Qian Liu Latte.
The other commercial outlets inside are basically lackluster; they look half-dead, and there aren’t any proper dining options. However, there are plenty of restaurants to choose from on the neighboring Shijing Street.
Right next door are the Wuyue Culture Park and Gongchen Mountain. On the mountain stands the Gongchen Pagoda, one of the oldest surviving brick-and-timber pagodas in the Jiangnan region. On the other side of the mountain lie the ruins of Gongchen Temple and the ancestral tomb of Qian Liu. If you have the interest and time, you can also go for a hike.
Overall, if you happen to be in Lin’an, spending two hours here is definitely a good way to pass the time.
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